A few years ago I made my first batch of Conversation Heart Cookies. Because, even though I try to every year, I really don’t like the taste of Conversation Heart Candies. So I made a cookie-lookalike, and the craziest thing happened. It went viral on Pinterest. As in, featured on the “most popular” category and all. It was a big surprise, in a crazy cool kinda way. To this day, it’s still one of my most-viewed posts. Continue reading →

I know it’s silly, but I like Valentine’s Day. Sure it’s totally commercialized and overdone, but I appreciate the reminder to tell my nearest and dearest that I love and appreciate them. And it never gets old to hear the same from others.

Besides feelin the love, it certainly doesn’t hurt that I have a major sweet tooth – and there are always delicious treats for Valentine’s Day. Below I’ve rounded up a few of my favorites. If you’re running behind, you have a few days to get your act together!

Brownies were, by far, my all-time favorite treat growing up. As in, made-from-a-box, just-add-eggs-and-water brownie. To this day, I always have a box of brownie mix in my cupboard. Just in case.

And it sure came in handy when I got inspired to create a decadent treat for my Valentine. I’m a little obsessed with making homemade marshmallows, and have had my fair share of hot chocolate and marshmallows this winter. It’s also one of Sam’s favorite combos.

Playing on the chocolate-marshmallow combo, I baked brownies and whipped up a sheet of vanilla marshmallows.

With a large heart-shaped cookie cutter, I stamped hearts out of both the brownie and marshmallow sheets. Then I stacked the cut outs into layers. And because I just couldn’t help myself, I whipped up some strawberry syrup to drizzle over. Looks romantic-ish, right?

What I didn’t plan for was coming down with a pretty bad cold. Sam wouldn’t come anywhere near me. In his defense, I would have done the same thing had the roles been reversed.

So to make him a bit more… comfortable, I was able to squeeze out a few smaller desserts using the sheets of marshmallows and brownies I had already made, and a smaller cookie cutter.

We both thoroughly enjoyed this taste of Valentine’s Day. Even if it was from separate plates 🙂

Brownies: Follow instructions on box and bake in 13×9 baking pan. Once baked and cooled, stamp with heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Vanilla Marshmallows

Coat an 13×9 square pan with cooking spray; line bottom with parchment paper. Coat the parchment with cooking spray, and set pan aside. Put sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring; let mixture come to a boil. Raise heat to medium-high; cook until mixture registers 260 degrees on a candy thermometer. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 cup water in a heatproof bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in extract; set aside. Beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture; with mixer running, gradually add to egg whites. Mix on high speed until very thick, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour mixture into lined pan. Let marshmallow stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours. Stamp with cookie cutter.

Cream the butter until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. When combined, slowly add the flour and beat until incorporated. Mix in the coarsely chopped mac nuts. Pat the dough into a ball and refrigerate in a large ziplock bag or plastic wrap for 2 hours. Heat the oven to 300 degrees F and remove dough from refrigerator. Roll out to 1/4-1/2 inch, and stamp with cookie cutters (or, simply roll into log and slice). Place pieces on ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes or until the cookies turn golden around the edges. Remove from oven and place cookies on a cooling rack. In the meantime, melt the chocolate and shortening, and dip (or drizzle!) over cookies. Sprinkle with finely chopped mac nuts, if desired, and let cool.

Instructions:
Cream the butter until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. When combined, slowly add the flour and beat until incorporated. Mix in the coarsely chopped mac nuts. Pat the dough into a ball and refrigerate in a large ziplock bag or plastic wrap for 2 hours. Heat the oven to 300 degrees F and remove dough from refrigerator. Roll out to 1/4-1/2 inch, and stamp with cookie cutters (or, simply roll into log and slice). Place pieces on ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes or until the cookies turn golden around the edges. Remove from oven and place cookies on a cooling rack. In the meantime, melt the chocolate and shortening, and dip (or drizzle!) over cookies. Sprinkle with finely chopped mac nuts, if desired, and let cool.

For almost two years now, we’ve been on buckle-down-and-get-Sam-through-grad-school mode. That said, our gift exchanges have been pretty minimal, and homemade wherever possible. From coupons to hand-drawn notes, we’ve pulled every creative card in the book.

Valentine’s Day is no exception – and love it or hate it, the holiday is right around the corner. This year, I wanted to test a new recipe that plays off the classic Valentine’s Day treat, Sweethearts. The recipe turned out to be successful (and an inexpensive treat!) so I thought I’d share the idea.

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Meet Marisa

Aloha, and welcome to Margaritas In The Rain! My name is Marisa. I live in Hawaii, where I cook approachable food. With an island twist. And yes, I do love drinking margaritas on rainy days. Care to join me?